A gas turbine engine includes a fan section that drives air along a bypass flowpath while a compressor section drives air along a core flowpath for compression and communication into a combustor section then expansion through a turbine section.
Fan blades are commonly made of titanium or carbon fiber. Titanium is strong, allowing a leading edge of the fan blade to protect the gas turbine engines from strikes from foreign objects.
A fan blade could be made of other materials, and a leading edge sheath can be attached to a blade body of a fan blade with an adhesive to strengthen the fan blade. The leading edge sheath can be attached to the blade body with a mold. However, due to its size, employing a mold increases the thermal mass in the autoclave, which could increase cure time of the adhesive.